696 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



weak and struggling Churches, by showing that they 

 are members of a large body. The Protestant 

 Churches of the Continent of Europe, for example, 

 feel the great need of sympathy and support from 

 Churches more favorably situated. 



3. It would enable Churches which are not in- 

 clined to organic union to manifest their belief in 

 the unity of the Church, and to fraternize with those 

 whom they love, while they still hold to their dis- 

 tinctive testimony. 



4. Each Presbyterian Church would become ac- 

 quainted with the constitution and work of sister 

 Churches, and their interest in each other would be 

 proportionally increased. Some might be led in this 

 way to see in other Churches excellences which they 

 would choose to adopt. 



5. The Churches may thus be led to combine in 

 behalf of the truth, and against prevalent errors ; as, 

 for instance, to defend the obligations of the Sab- 

 bath, to resist the insidious efforts of the papacy, 

 especially in the matter of education, and to with- 

 stand infidelity in its various forms. 



6. Without interfering with the free action of the 

 Churches, this Council might distribute judiciously 

 the evangelical work in the great field " which is the 

 world : " allocating a sphere to each, discouraging 

 the planting of two congregations where one might 

 serve, or the establishment of two missions at one 

 place, while hundreds of other places have none. In 

 this way the resources of the Church would be hus- 

 banded, and her energies concentrated on great en- 

 terprises. 



7. It would demonstrate to the Christian world 

 these great facts in the working of the Presbyterian 

 system : That, by its reasonable polity, it consists 

 with every form of civil government ; that, by the 

 simplicity of its usages, it is adapted to all the vary- 

 ing conditions of the Church upon earth ; and that, 

 by its equal distance from license and arrogance, it 

 is best prepared to recognize the kinship of all be- 

 lievers. 



8. It would manifest the proportions and power 

 of the Presbyterian Churches, and thus offer effectual 

 resistance to the exclusive pretensions of prelacy and 

 ritualism in all their forms. 



9. From such a council, hallowed and quickened 

 by the Redeemer's presence, there might proceedj as 

 from a heart, new impulses of spiritual life, bringing 

 every member of the Church into close fellowship 

 with his Divine Master, into deeper affection for his 

 brethren for his Master's sake, and into more entire 

 consecration of all his powers to the Master's work. 



HOWARD CROSBY, D. D., LL. D., 

 Chancellor New York University, N. Y. 



J. W. DAWSON, 

 Principal Macgill College, Montreal, Can. 



WILLIAM PAXTON, D. D., 

 New York, Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. 



H. D. GANSE, 

 New York, Reformed Church in America. 



HOWELL POWELL, 

 New York, Welsh Presbyterian Church. 



H. L. GRANDLIENERE, 

 New York, French Evangelical Church. 



JOHN HALL, D.D., 

 New York, Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. 



DAVID GREGG, 

 New York, Reformed Presbyterian Church. 



WILLIAM ORMISTON, D. D., 

 New York, Reformed Church in America. 



J. H. A. BOMBERGEE, D. D., 

 Lancaster, Pa., Reformed Church in the U. S. 



JAMES MURRAY, D. D., 

 Modr. Pros. Ch. of Lower Provinces of B. N. A. 



G. D. MATTHEWS, 

 New York, United Presbyterian Church, Sec'y. 



JAMES McCOSH. D. D., LL. D., " 

 President of the College of New Jersey, Princeton, 



N. J., Chairman. 

 NEW YORK, 1871. 



The committees appointed by the General 

 Courts of the various Presbyterian and Re- 

 formed Churches in the United States and 

 Canada which had approved of the scheme for 

 the Federal Union of Presbyterian Churches 

 to confer upon that subject met for consulta- 

 tion in the city of New York, December 3d. 

 The committees were constituted as follows: 



From the Presbyterian Church in the United 

 States of America : the Rev. Dr. Howard Cros- 

 by, New York ; Rev. Dr. William M. Paxton, 

 New York ; Rev. Dr. James McCosh, Prince- 

 ton, N. J. ; Rev. William J. Roberts, Elizabeth, 

 N. J.; Rev. William P. Burd, Philadelphia, 

 Pa. ; Rev. Thomas H. Robinson, Harrisburg, 

 Pa. ; Elder Charles A. Drake, Washington, 

 D. 0. ; Elder William F. Lee, New York. 



From the Synod of the Reformed Presbyte- 

 rian Church : the Rev. Dr. J. R. W. Sloane, 

 Alleghany City, Pa. 



From the General Synod of the Reformed 

 Presbyterian Church : the Rev. Dr. David 

 Steele, Philadelphia, Pa., and Elder Alexan- 

 der Woods, New York. 



From the United Presbyterian Church in 

 North America: the Rev. Dr. D. R. Kerr, 

 Pittsburg, Pa. ; Rev. Dr. Alexander Young, 

 Parnassus, Pa. ; Rev. Dr. J. B. Dale, Philadel- 

 phia, Pa. ; Rev. Dr. J. C. Cooper, Alleghany, 

 Pa. 



From the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church 

 of the United States (Presbyterian) : the Rev. 

 Dr. William Roberts, of Hyde Park, Pa. ; Rev. 

 Dr. M. A. Ellis, Bangor, Pa. 



From the Reformed Church in America : 

 the Rev. Dr. Button, and Rev. Dr. A. P. Van 

 Gieson, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. ; and Rev. Dr. 

 Philip Petty, New Palz, N. Y. 



From the Presbyterian Church in Canada, 

 the Rev. Mr. McPherson, of Stratford. 



The Presbyterian Church in the United 

 States and the Associate Reformed Syaod of 

 the South had declined to appoint committees. 

 The General Synod of the Reformed Church 

 in the United States held no meeting in 1874, 

 and was therefore not officially represented. 

 The Cumberland Presbyterian Church also was 

 not represented. The regular meeting of the 

 committees was held in private. The Rev. 

 Dr. A. P. Van Gieson, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 

 presided. A series of resolutions, embodying 

 the outline of a plan of Federative Union, was 

 presented by the Rev. Dr. James McCosh, of 

 Princeton, N. J. It was adopted after being 

 subjected to a friendly discussion, and receiv- 

 ing some amendments. It was made public at 

 a meeting held in the evening of the same day. 

 It is as follows : 



Resolved, That, in the opinion of the Churches rep- 

 resented at this meeting, it is desirable to form a con- 

 federation of the Reformed Churches holding to the 

 Presbyterian system, in order to manifest the sub- 

 stantial unity of these Churches, and to combine them 

 in the accomplishment of the great work committed 

 to them by Christ, the Head of the Church. 



2. While furnishing to the Presbyterian Churches 

 a means of entering into closer fellowship with one 



